Rejoice Constantly
James 1:2 (KJV) My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
The fire-and-brimstone pastor often tries to use guilt to make people submit to God. Many Christians believe guilt is the way to drive out sin.
But guilt does not produce revival.
Guilt teaches people to hide.
That is what Adam and Eve did after they sinned:
“And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.”
— Genesis 3:8 KJV
We must never allow our sins, failures, weaknesses, or missed shots in life to cause us to run from God.
We all miss the target. We all fail. We all fall short. Sometimes we aim at the right thing and still miss. Sometimes trials, suffering, pressure, and temptation surround us until we lose focus.
But the answer is never to run from God.
The modern idea that believers must keep confessing sins that Christ has already forgiven can become another tool of guilt. It can make people feel like forgiveness depends on their ability to keep remembering, naming, and re-confessing every failure.
But Christ has already dealt with our sins at the cross.
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
— Ephesians 1:7 KJV
And Paul says:
“Having forgiven you all trespasses;”
— Colossians 2:13 KJV
So when we miss, we do not hide.
When we fail, we do not run away.
When we sin, we do not pretend it did not happen.
We come back to Christ because we are already forgiven.
James tells us to count it all joy when we are surrounded by trials of many kinds, because those trials do not have the final word.
Our failures do not have the final word.
Our sins do not have the final word.
Our weaknesses do not have the final word.
Christ does.
The enemy wants your failure to become your identity. He wants guilt to become a wall between you and Christ.
But Scripture says:
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”
— Romans 8:1 KJV
So keep your eyes on Christ.
When you miss, come back.
When you stumble, come back.
When guilt tells you to hide, come back.
When shame tells you that you are too far gone, come back.
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace…”
— Hebrews 4:16 KJV
Do not let anything you are surrounded by pull you away from the One who already saved you.
This is important to understand before we move to the next part of James Chapter 1.
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Rejoice Constantly
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